Did you know that every September some of the world’s most well known and influential leaders come together in New York City for high-level discussions at the United Nations? Probably not! Or you knew about it by seeing coverage in traditional news media. One of the reasons I love social media the most is the opportunity for so many more of us to participate in some of those conversations previously off the record or out of reach. Sometimes it’s online, watching a live stream, or on Twitter following a hashtag from a conference. Yesterday, I got to experience one of those events in person.

Mashable, 92nd Street Y and the UN Foundation came together to create the Social Good Summit. A one-day summit about solutions and focusing on the 10th anniversary of the United Nation’s Millennium Development Goals. What are the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)? They are eight international development targets set forth by the United Nations. Adopted by world leaders in the year 2000 and set to be achieved by 2015, the MDGs seek to spur development by improving social and economic conditions in the world’s poorest countries.

Quick overview of the MDGs (as they are known):

Goal 1: Eradicate extreme hunger and poverty.
Goal 2: Achieve universal primary education.
Goal 3: Promote gender equality and empower women.
Goal 4: Reduce child mortality.
Goal 5: Improve maternal health.
Goal 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases.
Goal 7: Ensure environmental sustainability.
Goal 8: Develop a global partnership for development.

The Social Good Summit was one of the only major public UN Week events. (TEDxChange was another yesterday.) Speakers sparked and drove conversation around new and innovative ways to address the MDGs and included the like of actors and activists Edward Norton (Crowdrise) and Geena Davis (See Jane) to the CEO of the (RED) Campaign, Susan Smith Ellis, and the CEO of MTV Networks, Judy McGrath. Co-Founder of Facebook Chris Hughes talked about his new soon-to-be launched social network for change Jumo as did Jessica Jackley (Founder and former CMO of Kiva), who talked about her new platform, ProFounder. Ted Turner himself closed out the day in an interview by Pete Cashmore (Founder/CEO of Mashable).

Social media for social good was a prevalent theme throughout the day. Many organizations like (RED) and MTV talked about having to engage millennials with the Millennium Development Goals in order to continue to spread their message. With over five hours of media being consumed every day by the average millennial, it’s not enough to have a compelling message, it has to be in the type of content people want to see. At the same time, does having a mobile phone in your pocket indicate that you’ll make a difference in the world?

Howard W. Buffett from the U.S. Department of Defense spoke of the increased need for humanity in an age of technology. “What moves the human spirit is the need and will to act, not technology tools,” Buffett said. If that is indeed true, then how do we continue to reconcile the two? The rest of the day seemed to answer questions on both sides of that argument with some speakers emphasizing heavily the future of technology with others talking about the education, passion and necessary barriers to overcome that must be accomplished first.

Ted Turner’s interview crossed between old media and new. In talking about globalization and the worldwide economy, Turner said, “War is obsolete. You end up bombing your customers.” If customers can also be people we support through humanitarian missions and through non-profits and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that connect us to people all over the world, it’s no wonder that where the state of the world goes next will play a huge role in how we all interact with each other.

Mashable and (RED) are joining forces for Social Good Day on Thursday, September 23. Find out more, continue the #SocialGood conversation, and plan to attend a local Meetup.